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Media Freedom, Pirate Radio & The Digital Revolution.
Originally a blog about running a Pirate Radio Station in Boulder Colorado, USA from early 2000 to early 2005 when the FCC finally shut Boulder Free Radio (KBFR) down. Will continue to post though on the developments of underground radio in all forms, analog and digital (from pirate radio to Podcasting). The world is changing and it's going to be interesting.

House Passes Bill to Expand Community Radio Across the Country Free Press Hails Victory for Diverse Voices FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDate: December 17, 2009Contact: Liz Rose, 202-265-1490 x 32 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to open the airwaves to hundreds of new Low Power FM radio stations across America. The Local Community Radio Act (HR 1147), introduced by Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and supported by more than 80 co-sponsors in the House, now awaits a vote by the full Senate.Candace Clement, program coordinator at Free Press, made the following statement:"Today’s House victory is an important step in the decade-long fight to build and diversify local radio. This legislation is about amplifying local voices and expanding a bottom-up, people-powered medium to counteract rampant media consolidation. Low Power FM stations provide new opportunities for independent and diverse voices on the airwaves and outlets for truly…

I applaud their approach (sort of Gandhian), but suspect they're still dealing with the slightly milder equivalent of the Nazi SS - which is how the Denver office of the FCC's field enforcement agents tend to act. (here in 'another state'... we don't seem to even HAVE FCC agents.. but then, we're in the middle nowhere nowadays).

I wish these guys luck. And I have to say: Be careful of talking to the press. The Boulder Daily Camera, although representing a liberal town, is NOT a liberal paper. It's owned by some sneaky right wing bastards and it shows. Note the ending of the story... they quote one of the pirates:

"Fear distracts you from your ultimate goal," he says. "If you define yourself in opposition to something, you're not defining yourself, period."

Full text of the post below:=================================================================In the past, radio was the best and only way to get "immediate" or at least timely information about world news. There was no CNN. No email to communicate with loved ones. Radio was a lifeline.

Today, radio is defined by ...

Scaled down workforces.

"Local" programming from out of town -- out of state and across the nation.

"Local" news from regional newsrooms to save money.

"Local" decisions made by corporate officers somewhere else.

No Internet strategy.

No mobile content plan.

No fun. No focus. No future.

That's radio today as consolidators are changing the face of broadcasting to suit their needs -- shrink the business so they can remain in business.

You may not know it, but if you have a wireless router, a cordless phone, remote car-door opener, baby monitor or cellphone in your house, the FCC claims the right to enter your home without a warrant at any time of the day or night in order to inspect it.

That’s the upshot of the rules the agency has followed for years to monitor licensed television and radio stations, and to crack down on pirate radio broadcasters. And the commission maintains the same policy applies to any licensed or unlicensed radio-frequency device.

“Anything using RF energy — we have the right to inspect it to make sure it is not causing interference,” says FCC spokesman David Fiske. That includes devices like Wi-Fi routers that use unlicensed spectrum, Fiske says.